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Company Name: Higa Distillery
&Co.
Founded: 1883
Address: 5-8-7 Nishizaki-cho, Itoman City
TEL/FAX: 098-995-0800 |
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Exhibition of its awamori
collection in its own gallery, and helping to spread the culture
of awamori as a tourists' distiller.
Founded in 1883, the Higa distillery is the successor to distillery
techniques said to have been introduced from Thailand some 500 years
ago in the Ryukyu period. According to its fourth president, Masakuni
Higa, 'awamori is not merely a liquor but a culture'. Mr.
Higa says that awamori must not be carried away as a passing trend,
but should be refined and handed down to the next generation because
it is a culture in itself.
Higa distillery emphasizes the education and training of its employees,
who are considered as the successors to that culture. Its strategy
is not just to sell the products but to expand the number of consumers
at the bottom of the social scale. This is well reflected in its
production and sales of Shima Uta ('Island Song'), which
the company started marketing at convenience stores on the mainland
of Japan. Reasonably priced and with an alcohol level set at a comfortable
25%, the product has helped to support the company's belief that
'awamori should be introduced to more people in order to
spread the fine quality of vintage kusu'. At present, 20%
of the product is shipped outside Okinawa.
The Awamori Masahiro Gallery, opened in 1993, is also a place
that provides an opportunity for people to become better acquainted
with awamori and its history. It is a unique exhibition hall
for awamori lovers, displaying a collection of vintage liquors
from all of the awamori distillers as well as providing an
opportunity for liquor sampling.
President Higa, who refers to liquor making as 'dream making', continues
to make awamori using the traditional method of atmospheric
distillation to keep the long-loved flavor. His main brand, Masahiro,
is one of the must-have brands for awamori lovers. The idea
is to become acquainted with the liquor via Shima Uta, enhance
the experience with Masahiro, and then move on to appreciate
the vintage Koshu. The consumers, too, are a part of the awamori
culture to be refined and handed down. |
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